scholarly journals Seasonal and spatial variation in growth and abundance of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in a recently invaded lake: implications for management

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Rolla ◽  
Sonia Consuegra ◽  
David J. Hall ◽  
Carlos Garcia de Leaniz
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Artificial Substrates ◽  
Positive Density ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Density Dependent ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Deep Waters ◽  
One Year ◽  
Settling Rates

AbstractThe control of the highly invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) has been flagged as a priority but success has been variable. A better understanding of the growth and drivers of settlement of zebra mussel is necessary for a more efficient management of this invasive species, but seasonal data are still relatively scant. We monitored the seasonal changes in settlement rates, density, and growth of zebra mussel in artificial substrates over one year in Cardiff Bay (UK), an artificial amenity lake invaded by zebra mussels in 2003 and where the species is rapidly expanding. Mean settling rates varied from 4,200 to 6,200 mussel m−2 over June to September mirroring changes in water temperature, and peaked at 17,960 mussels m−2, the highest density reported in Britain. Density was highest at the deepest panels (3 m). Growth varied significantly among sampling stations, with growth taking place during the summer and ceasing during winter and spring. Mixture analysis reveals the existence of multiple cohorts displaying different growth and settling rates and that follow different density dependent mechanisms, being positive density-dependent at low densities, and negative density-dependent at high densities. We suggest this creates the conditions necessary for source and sink metapopulations to develop which may need to be taken into account in management. Targeting mussels for removal in deep waters during the summer and early autumn might prove beneficial, but the existence of contrasting density-dependent mechanisms suggests that removal may be beneficial or counterproductive depending on local conditions.

Development of macroinvertebrate community structure associated with zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) colonization of artificial substrates

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1438-1443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Wisenden ◽  
Robert C. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Lake Erie ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Artificial Substrates ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Communities ◽  
Protected Site

We used artificial substrates (rocks < 1500 cm2 surface area) in shallow water (2 m) to assess the development of epilithic macroinvertebrate communities in the presence of zebra mussels. At a turbulent site (Wheatley, Lake Erie), previously colonized (with a non-zebra mussel community) and uncolonized rocks left for 1 year both had lower densities of total invertebrates than previously colonized rocks recovered after only 1 day. As zebra mussels colonized the rocks, Gammarus sp. (amphipods) increased in density, while Chironomini and Tanypodinae (midges), Polycentropus sp. (caddisflies), and Physella sp. and Pleurocera sp. (snails) declined. At a protected site (Stoney Point, Lake St. Clair), previously colonized rocks initially (2 months) had higher densities of many taxa, including zebra mussels, than uncolonized rocks. This difference disappeared after 1 year, as zebra mussels increased on all rocks. Gammarus sp. maintained its numbers, while Tricladida (flatworms) increased and Oecetis sp. (caddisflies), Physella sp., Pleurocera sp., and Tanypodinae declined. Although a similar "zebra mussel – amphipod" community developed on rocks at both sites, we hypothesize that at the turbulent site, zebra mussels and amphipods have a shared tolerance of unstable habitats, and zebra mussels facilitate amphipod colonization of rocks by increasing microhabitat stability and food supply. At the protected site, zebra mussels outcompete other surface dwellers like snails for space, and facilitate the colonization of scavenger–omnivores like amphipods and flatworms.

scholarly journals Occurrence of two distinct lineages of the freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii (Hydrozoa: Limnomedusae) in Italy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimo Morpurgo ◽  
Peter Schuchert ◽  
Samuel Vorhauser ◽  
Renate Alber
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Artificial Substrates ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Large Lake ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Genetic Lineages ◽  
Polyp Stage

The freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester 1880 is a cryptic cosmopolitan invasive species, which occurs in all continents except Antarctica. Recent molecular studies suggest the existence of at least three very different genetic lineages of Craspedacusta: the “sowerbii”, the “kiatingi”, and the “sinensis” lineages. We report the presence of both medusae and polyps of this alien taxon in the Large Lake of Monticolo / Montiggl, a meso-eutrophic natural lake in the Province of Bolzano / Bozen in Northern Italy. Molecular analyses of mitochondrial 16S sequences showed that this population belongs to a different lineage than that recently described for Sicily (Southern Italy). Therefore, there are two different genetic lineages of C. sowerbii in Italy. In the Large Lake of Monticolo / Montiggl medusae were observed in 6 consecutive summers (2015–2020), from July to September. All the examined medusae were males. The stomach content analyses showed that zooplanktonic copepods and cladocerans with size range between 0.3 and 0.8 mm were the preferred prey of medusae. Polyps of C. sowerbii were recorded in the lake on the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha in shallow water and on the underside of artificial substrates. The analyses of zebra mussels would therefore be a simple method to check for the presence of the polyp stage of C. sowerbii in various aquatic environments.

A wall jet to measure the attachment strength of zebra mussels

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Daniel Ackerman ◽  
C. Ross Ethier ◽  
Jan K. Spelt ◽  
D. Grant Allen ◽  
Catherine M. Cottrell
Keyword(s):  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Zebra Mussels ◽  
Artificial Substrates ◽  
Environmentally Benign ◽  
Wall Jet ◽  
Dreissena Bugensis ◽  
Marine Bivalves ◽  
Attachment Strength ◽  
The Mean

A wall jet is presented as a novel means of measuring the attachment strength of zebra mussels. Attachment strength was inferred from a fluid detachment parameter (DP), defined as the nominal wall shear stress at the detachment site × mussel length2. DP varied significantly on natural and artificial substrates: in tests with 288 Dreissena bugensis (≈8–10 mm long), the mean (±SE) DP was 8.9 ± 0.9 mPa∙m2 on limestone/dolomite, 5.6 ± 0.5 mPa∙m2 on polyvinylchloride, 4.3 ± 0.4 mPa∙m2 on stainless steel, 4.2 ± 0.5 mPa∙m2 on aluminum, and 2.5 ± 0.3 mPa∙m2 on polymethylmethacrylate (Plexiglas). The attachment strength of postlarval mussels (plantigrades; <1 mm) was two orders of magnitude less than adult mussels. These results were validated with conventional tensile loadings, in which 633 Dreissena bugensis and 26 Dreissena polymorpha were pulled off substrates with a calibrated force scale. The tensile loadings results were comparable with those of marine bivalves. Good correlation between pull-off force and DP was observed. Information of this nature is useful for the implementation of environmentally benign zebra mussel controls.

The relation between density regulation and natural selection

1956 ◽  
Vol 145 (920) ◽  
pp. 306-308 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Positive Density ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Annual Plants ◽  
Density Dependent ◽  
Juvenile Dispersal ◽  
Competition For Food ◽  
One Year ◽  
Dependent Factor ◽  
Do So

Darwin (1859) introduced the notion of natural selection by showing that if the density of a species is to remain steady, most of the individuals in each generation must die prematurely. Nicholson (1954) has analyzed the factors determining the density of a species in great detail. Haldane (1953) did so more summarily. It is simplest to consider annual plants or animals. Their increase or decrease from one year to another is a function, among other things, of their density. A factor which leads to increase as the density increases is called density-disturbing (Nicholson), or positive density-dependent (Haldane). Such factors include all forms of mutual aid, from the mutual protection of trees from storms and the greater ease of finding mates if the population is not too sparse, to various forms of social behaviour. Density-regulating (Nicholson) or negative density-dependent (Haldane) factors include all forms of competition, including competition for food and space, and disease facilitated by overcrowding. Other factors, which Nicholson calls density-legislative and density-inactive, are independent of density. Examples are the effects of heat and cold, in so far as they are not modified by competition or co-operation. Clearly at high densities some negative density-dependent factor must come into action, or density would increase indefinitely. Positive density-dependent factors maybe important at low densities. If so there may be an unstable equilibrium, and populations which fall below it decrease further and die out, for example, sessile bisexual or self-sterile organisms with juvenile dispersal. They always make for instability of equilibrium. Negative density-dependent factors may do so if their effect increases very sharply with density, or if it is delayed (Nicholson & Bailey 1935).

Body size-dependent Cd accumulation in the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha from different routes

Chemosphere ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 168 ◽  
pp. 825-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Li Tang ◽  
Douglas Evans ◽  
Lisa Kraemer ◽  
Huan Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Zebra Mussel ◽  
Dreissena Polymorpha ◽  
Cd Accumulation ◽  
Size Dependent
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